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Somatosensation

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at...

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex....

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Estimation of Contact Regions Between Hands and Objects During Human Multi-Digit Grasping

Estimation of Contact Regions Between Hands and Objects During Human Multi-Digit Grasping

Published on: April 21, 2023

Dexterous Object Manipulation Requires Context-Dependent Sensorimotor Cortical Interactions in Humans.

Pranav J Parikh¹, Justin M Fine², Marco Santello²

¹Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-6015, USA.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|December 18, 2019

Summary

The brain

Keywords:

feedback grasping memory sensorimotor control

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Last Updated: Jan 1, 2026

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Human Evolution

Background:

Dexterous object manipulation is crucial for daily life.
Previous research linked primary motor cortex (M1) to memory-based force control in constrained grasping.
The neural basis for unconstrained grasping, which relies on online feedback, remained unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural mechanisms of dexterous manipulation in both constrained and unconstrained grasping contexts.
To determine the roles of the primary motor cortex (M1) and somatosensory cortex (S1) in different grasping conditions.

Main Methods:

Utilized noninvasive brain stimulation techniques.
Examined brain activity during both constrained and unconstrained object grasping tasks.

Main Results:

In constrained grasping, M1 (primary motor cortex) stored and retrieved digit forces, while S1 (somatosensory cortex) did not.
In unconstrained grasping, both M1 and S1 were involved in adjusting digit forces based on real-time position feedback.
The roles of M1 and S1 differed significantly depending on the grasping context.

Conclusions:

Sensorimotor cortical interactions are modulated by the interplay of memory and online feedback during manipulation.
M1 and S1 exhibit context-dependent roles in controlling digit forces for object manipulation.